Accelerant

by Katelyn Beckett

  They shut on her just as she reached them and I felt a little thrill of satisfaction. It was unreasonable. I'd been dead, as far as she knew. But she wasn't willing to just have me, either, now that I was back. I leaned against the side of the elevator as it descended and tried to put my thoughts in order. Would I have reacted the same way as she had if the situation had been flipped?

  I couldn't imagine being alone for so many years; I was too sociable. But that didn't mean I couldn't be mad, or that I couldn't be hurt and feel replaced. It didn't mean that I had to settle in and enjoy the idea of my girlfriend getting pounded by a bunch of tough, strong guys.

  It didn't mean anything.

  The lab door stood open. I slipped inside and shut it after me. Maybe, if I was lucky, I could figure out the meaning of some other things at Edwin's side. I doubted it.

  Chapter 17

  I'd known it was a possibility, but I hadn't wanted it to be true.

  After Nishelle left, I grabbed my bag and began to pack it. Where was I going? To beat the crap out of something, get the frustration out of my veins before I ended up jumping through a wall or six again. Mind you, just getting off the bed I'd already broken one of the sideboards and my ankle had barely caught the side of it.

  Frustration surged through me and I tried to fight it down. It had always been us, Nishelle and Cassie, Cassie and Nishelle.

  What the hell was I going to do without her if she decided she couldn't handle my boys?

  I shook my head, pausing as I tried to choose which gloves would suit me best in that moment. I finally grabbed a pair with spikes on the knuckles and tossed them in. No, I wasn't supposed to use those in the simulator but I didn't really care at the moment. It wasn't like we couldn't fix it with everything else. Hey, boss, simu's down. Yeah, probably damage from when Melody went rogue.

  Boom, insurance would fix it in a jiffy.

  I wished there were some kind of relationship insurance, something that would guarantee you could pick up when and where you'd left off. That was especially if you weren't at fault for the separation in the first place.

  Grinding my teeth, I hefted the bag and headed out for the gym. I'd been ready to marry Nishelle, ready to spend the rest of my life with her. You know how they say things happen for a reason? There was a gnawing sensation in the back of my mind, and maybe it was the Dream who the fuck knew, that maybe it was a good thing we'd missed out on that.

  Maybe I'd never get to ask her in the first place.

  Regret bottomed out in my stomach, hollowing me to my core. But some little flicker of light came prancing through that gaping hall of darkness, carried by two very capable men and the shadow of a third, his form ever-changing. I sighed. Of course my men would take care of me, love me, be with me. They wanted me. I wanted them. And dare I say it? I... liked them a lot. Maybe the other L-word, too. Or I was certainly heading in that direction.

  That didn't mean it would hurt any less if Nishelle dropped me after everything we'd been through.

  The gym was graciously empty and I chucked my bag against the control panel for the simulator. I programmed it for an endurance run, something I absolutely shouldn't have been doing in my shape, and allowed it to pick the enemies for me. I didn't care what it was, just so long as my fist hit it. Yeah, that was good.

  I pulled on my gloves, jumped in the simulator, and hopped from spot to spot as I listened to it turn on.

  First up? A fucking Kipa. Though this one wasn't anywhere near as big as the one Adam and Nate had taken on, it still had one hell of an ugly mug. I drove my elbow into its throat and smashed its foot beneath a step that made the simulator squeak. A little too much, then. Being a Blitzer wasn't all about destroying stuff. It was about learning how much force to use in the appropriate situation, especially because we had so damned much of it.

  The Kipa vanished and a buzz sounded. A ding followed it and a simulation of a human, all dressed in crimson, appeared before me. The Crimson Wave, a villainess who liked to paint the town red with blood, was someone that my parents had fought years before my time. I lunged, she side-stepped, and I took a solid ten minutes to learn her patterns and her attacks.

  Or I thought I had. I yelped as she caught me across the cheek, blood spattering across the floor. All I saw was a red blur in front of me as I threw myself at her, drove her to the floor, and beat her to a pulp.

  "Now, isn't that a bit much for the poor, innocent simulation?"

  His voice caught me off guard. The simulation went silent and I saw Nate playing with the control board. I scowled as he turned it off. He shrugged at me. "Doctor's orders, Strikes. You aren't supposed to be doing this."

  "I'm not supposed to be doing anything," I snapped, walking out and peeling my gloves off. I swiped my hand across my cheek and pulled away a hell of a lot more blood than I'd first guessed. "Since when do the damn simulators do that?"

  Nate sighed and came over, his hands gentle as he took my chin and tipped it to the side to examine the wound. "You need a couple of stitches. And it started a year or so ago, when you hit the button to allow it. I'll be right back."

  He let me go and walked around the corner. I knew there was a first aid station hidden somewhere in the trainers' office. No surprise the only real medical professional among us had full access to it. He was back in an instant and patted the bench. I sat and waited as he drew out a packet of sutures. "You want something to numb the pain?"

  "I can deal with a couple of stitches," I said. My idiot mouth and my idiot pride were going to be the death of me.

  Nate mmmed at that and spritzed some sort of cooling stuff on the wound anyway. I closed my eyes and sighed as the pain drifted off. I heard him pierce the hooked needle through some sort of twisted pressure in my head, like when a dentist removes a tooth even though he's given you a thousand Novocain injections. It doesn't hurt, but you're very much aware that something is going on.

  It was sweet that Nate didn't want to hurt me. And his hands were so quick, so deft, that it was all over in a couple of minutes. He kissed my forehead and smiled at me. "See? Didn't hurt at all. Brave, strong, and smart."

  "If I was smart, I wouldn't be getting stitches after a practice session," I said.

  He laughed and fastened the first aid box. "Everyone gets their ass handed to them sometimes. How's it feel?"

  "Better than I do." The words slipped out of me like they were oiled. I cringed.

  Nate caught them in an instant and put the box on the ground to the side. "Lady problems?"

  "Like you'd understand," I said, without thinking about it. His head rocked back like I'd slapped him and I hurried to fix what I'd done. "No, no. Not like that. Nate, I'm sorry. I'm in a piss-poor mood and Nishelle's not helping, no."

  I watched as he wrestled with himself, caught between leaving me sitting there and speaking. Thankfully, the latter won out. "It may not be exactly the same," he said, slowly, "but Lexi's made it very clear she wants nothing to do with me ever again. She threatened to throw me through a window if I kept bothering her and Isabella."

  "I'm sorry," I said, honestly meaning it. "I knew you two were over but I didn't realize she'd be so... aggressive."

  "Don't worry about it. I know what you mean. It's just, I wish we'd been able to talk it out. Stay friends, if nothing else."

  "I don't know if I'll get that from Nishelle, either," I said.

  He frowned. "She doesn't like the idea of sharing."

  All I could do was nod. It was a blessing I'd already cried myself out. They say tears hurt like a bitch when they drip into stitches.

  "It's a new idea to a lot of people, Cassie. Give her some time. She'll come around to it." He paused, then shrugged. "If she doesn't, you still have us. "

  That made something stir deep in my stomach. It was warm, hopeful, almost cheerful. I leaned my head against him and looked up at him; way up at him. Nate was just so much taller than I was, all of them were. It was ridiculous. "You've still got me, too."


  "Do I?" His voice was like hot milk on a cold day, washing into me and filling me so-

  So something.

  I shivered and leaned against him a little harder, my voice husky, "Whenever you want me."

  His eyes were warm against my skin, rolling over every inch and considering his next move. Slowly, his fingers crept up along my arm. "If I go too far, you stop me. Tell me no. Tell me to stop. You understand?"

  "I don't think you will."

  "But if I do?" Nate's voice was an insistent thing. I lifted my head and kissed his chin. Then I bit him, just to give him a little challenge to his damn certain authority.

  The growl that rumbled through him seemed to be one of approval. I found myself on my back in short order, his hands sliding beneath my shirt as he kissed me.

  It is an amazing thing what a kiss can do. Steal your breath, warm you from head to toe, push you to the brink; kisses do all of those things and so much more. His lips tasted like brandy and dark chocolate, but the scent of the spirit wasn't there. I assumed he'd found some boozy chocolates somewhere and enjoyed a couple. I reached for the hem of his top and peeled it off of him.

  He only broke the kiss when he had to so I could get that irritating clothing over his head. Tempted though I was to leave him trussed up like a bird, let him see how he liked it, I tossed the shirt off beside us and hissed when his bare stomach met mine.

  My mind ticked back to Adam, to Edwin, in Edwin's bedroom and a fever swept over me. A taste of them, but I wanted more. I needed more and I wasn't going to give in when it came to Nate. He pulled my shirt off right after I'd done his and I worked to compensate that for him. He paused for a moment and looked me over.

  "You've got some of the most beautiful scars I've ever seen," he said.

  I looked up at him, curious. "The scars?"

  Though I wasn't as bad as some, I'd certainly picked up plenty of them over the years with the Alliance and in prison. He bent his head and began to kiss each one, then another, and another, slowly working his way toward the split between my breasts. There, he stopped and rested his chin atop my breasts and smiled up at me. "Badges of honor. Heroism. Bravery. You're incredible, Cassie. And I should have seen it sooner."

  My fingers ran back through those silky locks of his, disappearing in the depths. A blush crept up my body and I couldn't help but return the smile. "You're so sweet and I had no idea."

  "Stop?"

  "Are you kidding?"

  His chuckle ran over me like hot wax, rippling across my skin. He slipped off my bra with no special attention and ran his tongue over one nipple then the other. Then, he blew across each. I curled toward him, my shoulder blades pressing back into the bench beneath me.

  That was when the claws came out. They drew their way down my ribs, leaving little pink lines wherever they went. Teeth, just slightly too sharp to be entirely human, nipped my exposed skin. A forked tongue lashed afterward, drawing a sound from me that I'd never made before, half moan and half squeak.

  I got another chuckle for that and melted beneath him.

  "Stop?"

  His fingers rested on the fly of my jeans. Steam practically pouring off my body, I looked up at him incredulously. "No. God, no."

  Nate grinned at me and pulled open the button of my fly in an instant, then slid the offending pair from me. He paused and flicked the little violet bow at the top of my underwear. "That's adorable."

  "Fuck you."

  The words made him hesitate. "I can. If that's what you want."

  I sat up, drawing one leg up his side and pulling him toward me. Nate followed, slow but obeying my guidance. I could feel his hardness straining against his fly, pressing against mine, insistent, determined. Every instinct demanded I arch against him, grind until he lost his mind and fucked me like an animal. Instead, I kissed him, slow and sweet.

  Then my hands began to travel. I whispered against his ear, purring as best I could, as I returned the favor with his fly. "You want to know a secret?"

  "Mmm?" His hips twitched as I came so close to his cock, just a little involuntary spasm.

  I hooked his waistband back, over his hips. To hell with good, responsible decisions and to hell with waiting. "I've wanted you since I was fifteen years old, Nate."

  He exhaled a shaky note as my thumbs hooked in his boxers and peeled those away, too. The head of his cock bounced out, pressing against my wrist. God, the man was hung like a horse. Was that part of the shapeshifter thing? Or was he just that impressive naturally?

  Lifting my head, I kissed him again. He slid up my body, pushing my head down and back. Chest to chest, he pinned me to that bench, my back stiff against the wood. His hands snuck between us and I hooked my other leg around the small of his back, offering everything up to him.

  Claws ripped the band of my panties, leaving them dangling from one thigh. The only thing lying between us torn open, I gasped but he pressed deeper into the kiss. He looped one arm around me, pulling my body up to meet his. Then I felt him resting against my entrance, taunt muscle and stiff flesh waiting to be let in, to invade, to seek the sweetness that awaited.

  And I let him have it.

  Slow, gentle, his first few thrusts were teasing and uncertain. Battered and broken though we were, we were new to each other and learning. I tried to remain quiet in case anyone were passing by the gym, and to hell with the cameras if they were working. Nate wasn't about to let me do that. He buried himself in me to the hilt and remained there for a wonderful moment, filling every inch of me. I breathed a word against his neck but I had no notion of what it was.

  He heard it and he took it as the encouragement I had meant. The first draw and buck of his entire length made my head tip back, every part of me burning with need. The second sent me limp against him, the ache in my body too much to fight. I panted against his cheek, my lips desperate to seek every bit of skin I could find, to kiss it, breathe it, taste it-

  "Please, please, please," I whispered.

  Those too-sharp teeth found my left nipple and bit in answer. I cried out, no longer caring if innocents heard what was happening. My hands flew to his head, pulling it tighter against me as I rolled my body back with each of his motions, trying to follow him to whatever wonderful place we were both headed.

  The bite drew back, switched sides, and his force, his speed, doubled, tripled. I was in a place made for the two of us, dreaming of something just out of reach, my teeth sinking into his ear in turn. He snarled but I felt him harden within me, in that deep, secret place, and crush against my body again and again.

  My nails slid from his head, dug into his shoulders. The bite released again but came to my neck as all of him sank into me. I mewled, closed my eyes, opened them, and closed them again. He was like lightning, tearing me apart in all the ways that had been forbidden to me for so long. To, fro, I held on to him for life and love and all the good things in the world.

  And then, I screamed.

  The orgasm destroyed me from within, crashing my mind, blinding my senses. There was only pleasure, hot and sweet, feral and bloody, hurling me to the sky only to fall violently back to earth where a man awaited me, pressing against some sensitive place within me. I stared up at me, spent, to find a predator's gaze looking back at me.

  "Cassie."

  I tried to respond but I hadn't yet remembered how my mouth worked. I'm certain I made some sound. His hand slid away from my clit and I tried to remember when those talented fingers had entered the game, not that I was complaining. I did complain when he withdrew, as carefully as he could. Watching him, I reached toward him. He was still hard as a rock and he deserved at least as a release like he had given me.

  Nate lifted me as if I weighed nothing. He nuzzled my cheek. "This was about you. We'll worry about me later."

  Grumbling, I pressed my face against him. I wanted nothing more than to collapse on the floor with him, at least get him off, too. Instead, I was certain that my legs weren't going to work for another few minutes.
Kisses rained atop my head as he carried me, leaving our clothes in a pile. We could return for them at our leisure, I guessed.

  As it was, he took me to the public showers and locked us in a private booth.

  Chapter 18

  Schaweeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeek.

  Scha-weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeek!

  "Adam, if you don't mind?" Nishelle asked, iron patience in her voice.

  I spun the chair around again just because I could. "I really don't."

  "We're trying to do something important here," Edwin said. "And I think I've almost got it."